The Journey Continues
by Writer Girl Angel
Summary: Inuyasha and the gang have overcome nearly every obstacle thats come their way, but now that Naraku's dead..what do they do? Or is there still some unfinished business they've..forgotten to tend to? Is normal life possible for them?
1. Chapter 1The Journey has ended

The Journey Has Ended

Inuyasha and his friends have defeated Naraku , healed Miroku's curse ,

saved Kohaku , and put Kikyo back into Hell where she belonged . Everyone

was on edge now , the journey was over . Were they to go their separate

ways ? Return to their old lives without each other . Everyone could stay

together , Miroku , Sango , Inuyasha , Shippo . But ... what about Kagome?

Would she stay with them ? Know one was sure , not even Kagome , and no

one dare ask . Not even the brave Inuyasha , who fought tremendous demons ,

faced powerful foes , overcome his most difficult challenges , but could not

ask Kagome if she would stay with them .

"Inuyasha, how are you feeling today ? Hopefully most of your wounds are

healed up ." Little Shippo asked his dear doggy friend . Inuyasha had been

injured greatly when finishing their journey . Killing Naraku wasn't an easy

task , nor sending his old love into the pits of Hell , or curing his friend

Miroku's curse . Inuyasha didn't answer Shippo , he just kept walking along

starring at the ground . Kagome noticed this and spoke up . "Inuyasha , you

could answer him please , or did you throat get ripped out?" Kagome said in

a flustered tone . Inuyasha had been nothing but unkind to her for the past 4

days . Since he sent Kikyo into Hell after she tried to kill Kagome , he

rarely would speak a word to a soul , ask no one for help tending to his many

wounds , ask no one for food or water , even rest . It was as if he locked himself

inside his mind , this scared Kagome .

Though , he did come to and grumble to Kagome to leave him alone , they

fought , and he would go back to his zombie state . Inuyasha wasn't listening

was why , he was afraid and blocked out the world around him . He feared

Kagome leaving him to go home . She didn't know how he honestly felt , she

would leave for sure . His mind kept repeating what he wanted to say to her .

' Kagome... I saw your face in every punch I took . Every bone I broke , was

all for. And my worst pains are words I cannot say , and I will always fight on

for you.' he repeated again and again until he was sick of hearing

those words and came up with a new way to tell her . Every time he thought

of her leaving him his conscience would speak up . 'She will not wait for you

any longer Inuyasha .' . Inuyasha feared the loss of sweet Kagome.

The next day , he decided to come out of his zombie state . He planned to

confess to Kagome . But before he could get a word in he was getting chewed

out by Kagome . "Inuyasha ! How dare you not listen to us when we are

speaking to you ! How dare you insult us and then think that we willforgive

you instantly for being so horrid! Inuyasha ... You know I forgive you for this

but ... but ... I am sorry ok! Sorry to stress you all the time ! Sorry to be in

your way and cause you to get injured." she blurted out as quick as she could,

while Inuyasha just stood there with a confused and shocked look on his face .

'Had I really acted this horribly toward Kagome to make her lash out like

this? Or is she stressed over something else?' he thought to himself as she

rambled on , tears flowing down her cheek . " Inuyasha , everyone..." she said

getting all of their attention " I'm taking a walk , I need some time to think ."

she saidd and darted off toward the woods . "Kagome wait!" Inuyasha said as

he started to go after her when Sango stepped in front of him . " Let her think

, Inuyasha ." she said as he kept his eyes locked onto her running into the

woods . "Sango , please let me pass , let me make sure she'll be okay." he said

as he held back his tears . Sango nodded and stepped aside to let him follow

her into the woods . "Why did you let him go , Sango?" Miroku asked

confused . "He has something to tell her , I could see it in his eyes ."


	2. Chapter 2 Inuyashas Confession

Inuyasha's Confession

Kagome walked quietly into the woods for sometime away from everyone . She was too

stressed about whether she should stay or not . She and Inuyasha had been

fighting for almost 5 days now . She wanted more than anything to stay with her

friends , and most of all with Inuyasha . But her heart broke alittle more every time they fought ,

she knew it couldn't stand too many more fights , and she loved him so much that she feared

leaving him aswell . When she knew she was far enough away from camp that no one could

disturb her thinking , she sat down gently , sitting on her knees so in case someone would happen

to stumble upon her (especially Miroku!) , they couldn't see up her green school uniform skirt .

She remembered once when she was mad at Inuyasha , she left him. She had caught Inuyasha

with Kikyo . She remembered how much that hurt . She could feel the ache in her heart to forget

that memory , to pretend it never happened . But then she remembered why that memory was so

special . When her heart was longing to see him once more , she knew she had to go back , but

she feared that would be the last time . The only reason she had to go back was the fact that she

had the jewel shards still . So if she saw him that last time , to return the jewel shards , that would

be goodbye , the last time she saw Inuyasha ,her beloved Inuyasha. A tear rolled down her

cheek . She hated that thought of leaving him , but she knew the best part of her memory

was still to come . She finally decided to return to him and give him another chance , and if

he chose Kikyo over her , then so be it , at least he'd still be her friend . At the same time ,

Sango and Miroku had convinced Inuyasha to go see Kagome and apologize and ask her

back . He finally , after being his typical stuburn self and arguing , went to see Kagome .

When Kagome made it through to Inuyasha's time , she saw him walking toward her , she

quickly glanced back down to the ground before he saw her . He looked up and saw

Kagome's beautiful black hair gently swaying in the wind . She looked up to him when she

felt his eyes on her . They talked for a minute or two and began walking back to the others ,

and Kagome reached down and held Inuyasha's hand . He felt her delicate sweet hands in

his and he closed his around hers . She felt her heart race at the thought of him holding her

hand all the way back to camp .

Then , suddenly , Kagome felt someone watching her , she looked around . No sign of

anyone on the ground . Then she looked up into the treetops to check for that sneeking dog-

boy Inuyasha . She searched closely with her beautiful eyes , making sure no one was there

, no demons , good or bad , she wanted no one around her . When she was sure that no one

was there she looked down to the ground again and sighed . "I did hope it was Inuyasha."

she said outloud , knowing no one was there .

"Inuyasha would never ask me to stay with him ." Kagome let out with a sigh .

"Who am I kidding , he doesn't love me , except as a friend . But I want more , more than

friendship , more than what there is . I love Inuyasha , but he doesn't me . I have to forget

about him or I will never move on . But..." she said with a sigh and a tear begining to show

itself on her cheek . "...I don't want to ." she said and began crying . Inuyasha could hear

her and jumped down from the tree he was hiding in . "Kagome ..." he said as he jumped

down and began walking toward her . She quickly dries up her tears so he couldn't see

them . "Oh uh... Inuyasha ... I was just uh ... just um..." she said standing and looking away

from him . "Kagome ... I know why you were crying ...I ...I was watching you from the

tree." he said pointing to the tree he had just jumped out of . " What? Watching

me...why?" she said alittle angered yet glad to know he was there . " I wanted to make sure

you would be safe ... I didn't want anything to happen to you . I was worried about you

Kagome." he said looking into her eyes with a sweet look of love and concern . Kagome's

heart raced , she was shocked by what he had told her , he cared about her safety ? He was

worried about her? " Kagome... I know why you were crying ... because of me , because we

were fighting , because you ... you love me . And you aren't sure if you should stay with me

or not..." he said looking down to the ground now , fearing to look in her eyes , fearing her

reaction to what he planned to tell her . " Kagome ... I want you to stay with us ... to stay

with me I mean . Kagome...I ...I ...love you..." he said to her as he looked back up into her

eyes . She smiled , tears forming in her eyes , and embraced Inuyasha with a tremendous

hug . He smiled when she did and he wrapped his arms around her . "I love you too ,

Inuyasha..." she said looking into his big beautiful eyes . They then began walking back

toward camp , hand in hand , not realizing they were being watched.


	3. Chapter 3 Saving Kagome

Saving Kagome

"Oh , Inuyasha , I forgot my scarf in the woods where I was sitting ." Kagome said in a sweet

little 'oh how silly of me' type of voice , remembering she had taken it off after sitting down .

"Oh, well let me run back and get it for you" Inuyasha said turning , preparing to run back and

grab the scarf for Kagome . "But you don't have to Inuyasha , really , it's okay ." Kagome said

sweetly , trying not to make him do something he didn't have to do . " It will only take me a

minute , it's no trouble at all . Just keep walking , camp is straight ahead , Kagome , I'll be back

in a minute ... promise." Inuyasha said and took off running and then leaped into a tree .

Kagome felt a little nervous walking back alone , though camp wasn't far and neither was

Inuyasha , but since she dashed of so fast that she forgot her sacred arrows , she didn't feel

secure. 'Camp is just over there .' she thought to herself and began walking again . Then she

heard something behind her , and , thinking it was Inuyasha , she turned around . Her bright eyes

widened and she gasp as she saw who really was behind her . Inuyasha's brother , Sesshomaru.

Inuyasha had just picked up Kagome's scarf when he also picked up the scent of a demon .

"Kagome..." Inuyasha said twitching his ears , and running as fast as he could to where he left

Kagome , tucking her scarf safely away in his shirt . The smell of a demon got stronger the closer

he got to where Kagome once stood . He stopped suddenly , at the spot he left Kagome , the

demon's scent was gone , the only scent left was the trees and human blood.

Inuyasha sped to the campsite , wasting no time , time was precious like Kagome . "Inuyasha ,

what's wrong? Where's Kagome?" Sango said running up to him . "She , she's been taken by a

demon , and she is injured , there is a strong smell of human blood." Inuyasha said and Sango

called Kilala and called for Miroku and Shippo , who instantly came running . Everyone set off

into the woods were Kagome was last seen .

Inuyasha led them to the spot where the scent ended and Kagome's blood was easily picked

up. Inuyasha jumped around in the trees , Shippo and Kilala carefully searched the ground for

any uneasily sensed smells or clues . "Inuyasha , I found something!" Shippo yelled and held up a

small piece of cloth in his hand . "What do you have there Shippo?" Inuyasha said jumping down

from a tree running to Shippo then kneeling down beside him . " I found a piece of torn cloth ,

Kagome's scent is on it a little ..." Shippo said holding it up to his nose . "..but it smells mostly

demon ." "Good work Shippo." inuyasha said taking the cloth and patting Shippo's head then

standing up. "It looks like Sesshoumaru's ..." Inuyasha said lifting it to his nose . "...it is ..." he

said and picked up his brother's scent and took off running faster than he ever had before toward

the deepest part of the forest . Inuyasha sped toward the scent , he knew why his brother had

taken Kagome , Sesshoumaru heard what he had said to Kagome .

Deeper into the woods , Sesshoumaru had tied two ropes to Kagome's arms and stretched her

arms out as far as they would go and then tied the other end to two trees opposite of each other .

He had also tied her feet together and then tied the other end around a steak and drove it into the

ground , so Kagome couldn't move and appeared to be standing with her arms stretched out to

her sides . Kagome slowly opened her eyes , awaking from her unconscious state. "Where ...where

am I ? Inu..Inu ..yasha , where are you?" she said groaning from pain . She remembered what

happened , she turned and saw Inuyasha behind her and she wanted to scream but he said

something to her... "I am truly sorry Kagome , but I must slay my brother and take his

Tetsusaiga , and I am prepared to harm anyone I must to do so ..." he said and raised his sword

and hit Kagome in the head with the handle , leaving a bruise and even a cut. "I see you're

awake, Kagome . As I said before , I truly am sorry for what I am about to do but my brother will

come looking for you , ready and willing to kill , just as I wish him to . This is the only way..."

Sesshoumaru said pressing his Tolkijin against her lower back . Kagome began to whimper

softly and a tear ran down her sore face , not from the fact that she was about to die but from the

knowledge of her Inuyasha , her love , would be slaughtered if he tried to kill Sesshoumaru in

revenge . "...I truly am sorry for this Kagome.." Sesshoumaru said and Kagome braced her body

for impact , she didn't want to scream . Sesshoumaru gripped the sword tightly and pushed the

sword through Kagome's weak body . "Inu...yasha!" Kagome screamed out from the pain .


	4. Chapter 4 Hold On, Kagome

"Hold On Kagome..."

Inuyasha felt a sudden pain in his heart . "Kagome!" he yelled. _I smell her blood , there's a lot_

_of it ... I have to save her , I have to help her!_ he thought to himself and tried to run quicker .

The smell was getting stronger the more he ran . 'Kagome's in a lot of pain..' he thought again to

himself . He had ran off faster than the others and left them behind . He was too worried to wait

for them to catch up. His brothers scent was strong now and the smell of Kagome's blood was

now to a sickening point . He knew if he didn't reach her soon she would die . He stopped , he

knew he was ther . He could see Kagome's limp , lifeless body strung up between to trees . She

looked as if she stood there with her arms stretched out . "Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled trting to see

if she would wake up . She didn't move and Inuyasha feared the worst . Sesshoumaru stepped out

from his hiding place in the shadows behind Kagome .

"Hello , Inuyasha..." he said stepping out beside Kagome .

"What have you done to her! Damn you , Sesshoumaru! Dman you to Hell!" Inuyasha screamed clenching his Tetseiga tightley , ready to

slaughter his brother for hurting Kagome .

"Ahh, now now , Inuyasha . Don't you wish to stay with her through her final breaths?" Sesshoumaru said and turned and cut the ropes

that held Kagome's dying body up .

She came tumbling to the ground and still didn't stir. Inuyasha watched as his brother walked off into the shadows and then he ran in

tears over to Kagome and lifted up her body onto his and sat down on his knees , holding her body close to his. "Its okay Kagome . Im

here now ... Hold on Kagome . Please, please hold on..." Inuyasha said and quietly cried .

"Inuyasha! Kagome!" Sango yelled out to her friend .

"Is she ...?" Miroku said running up to them .

"No..." Inuyasha said standing up , Kagome's limp body in his arms . "Take good care of her for me... I have to go see my brother..."

Inuyasha said handing Kagome over to Miroku .

Inuyasha turned and slowly started walking toward where his brother walked off. "Inuyasha ,

what if it's a trap? What if he wanted you to follow him? He'll kill you for sure..." Sango said

looking at him with caring friendly eyes.

" So be it , he tried to kill Kagome and if she dies ... I want to kill him or make sure I go with her..." Inuyasha said leaping into a tree and

taking off after his brother .

"Inuyasha...no...I love you ...too..." Kagome said in a whisper and Sango and Miroku both looked at her than each other .

"No wonder he ran off after her so fast ... he loves her ..." Miroku said starring at Kagome who was barely breathing.


	5. Chapter 5 Brothers

Brothers

Inuyasha ran quickly through the woods following his brothers scent . As his scent grew

stronger so did Inuyasha's want to kill his brother, his want to let his Tetsuseiga taste his brothers

blood . The thought of Kagome's little body being pierced through by his own brothers sword

only made the anger grow . And the smell of Kagome's blood still sickened him for the fact it

soaked his clothes and stained his flesh . He stopped , the scent led him to a small clearing in the

woods . "Show yourself dammit!" Inuyasha yelled as loud as he could .

"Inuyasha ...you wasted no time finding me ... she died didn't she ...in your arms perhaps..." Sesshoumaru asked smiling a

bit as he walked into his brother's sight .

"Actually she still breathes ..." Inuyasha said ready to pull out his Tetsuseiga and kill his brother .

"What a shame she is suffering ... I shall put her out of her misery when I kill you ... so you two can be together for eternity...maybe I can

even kill the others as well so they wont suffer from heartbreak..." Sesshoumaru said trying to irritate his brother as much as possible.

"Too bad , I ain't planning on letting you live ..." Inuyasha said and pulled out his Tetsuseiga . Sesshoumaru smiled and pulled out

Tolkijin .

"This is your end , littlebrother ." Sesshoumaru yelled to Inuyasha . Inuyasha lifted his Tetsuseiga and ran at his brother .

Sesshoumaru merely lifted his sword and Inuyasha was flung backward into a tree and fell to the

ground . Inuyasha stood back up quickly and readied his Tetsuseiga again .

" You are no longer my family , Sesshoumaru , don't call me your brother!" Inuyasha said and he and Sesshoumaru ran at

each other with their swords raised "This is for Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled and swung his sword at his brother's . When the two swords

hit , they created a bright white light that shot straight up into the sky . Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru just held their positions , starring into

each others eyes . Sesshoumaru smiled at his brother , Inuyasha could sense something was terribly wrong.

Meanwhile , Miroku and Sango where getting ready to take Kagome back to camp , "I hope

he'll be okay..." Sango said as she climbed onto Kilala . Suddenly they heard a loud explosion

followed by a bright white light . And something flew threw the smoke nd Sango and Miroku

prepared to fight when they noticed the ball of fur and blood was in fact their own Inuyasha .

Inuyasha slowly raised to his knees to try and stand when his sword came flying in and landed in

the ground before him , barely missing him. Inuyasha was too weak to stand and just sat there a

moment or two . "He's gone..." Inuyasha whispered and passed out .


	6. Chapter 6 The Healing Process

The Healing Process

Inuyasha opened his eyes . He was lying in some hay in a hut . His shirt was off and he had

bandages wrapped around his chest and abdomen . He sat up groaning in pain . His mind

instantly remembered what happened . "Kagome..." he whispered softly looking around the hut .

He saw her finally on the other side of the room . The others had built a bed for her to lie in . He

crawled over to her "Kagome..." he said in a whisper . She was extremely pale , her beautiful

shimmering black her no longer shined . It hurt Inuyasha to see her like this . A lone tear rolled

down his face and dripped onto the floor . "Im so sorry Kagome..." Inuyasha said and stood

quietly and limped out of the hut to find the others . The bright sunshine sickened him today , _It_

_shouldn't shine so beautifully while Kagome lay dying in the darkness ._ he thought to himself ,

knowing there wasn't a thing he could do about it .

"Inuyasha , your awake !" screamed little Shippo running up to him . "How are you feeling?" Shippo said jumping up in down , glad to

see his friend was feeling better .

"Fine Shippo..." Inuyasha said kindly .

"Inuyasha , you shouldn't be up and moving around yet . Not that I'd want you to sleep a few more days." Miroku said walking toward

Inuyasha with Sango at his side , holding his hand . Inuyasha noticed this and the two quickly let go .

"What do you mean 'a few more days'? How long have I slept?" Inuyasha said not really caring about their hand holding .

"You and Kagome have been sleeping the past 3 days now..." Sango told the confused and sore Inuyasha .

"Has Kagome woke yet , Inuyasha?"Shippo asked . Inuyasha looked down to him and shook his head no .

"Don't expect her to wake anytime soon , Inuyasha . She was extremely weak and refused to rest until we took you back

here and tended to your wounds." Miroku said looking at Inuyasha as if he was trying to tell him

something more than that .

"Would it be okay if I sat with her for awhile?" Inuyasha asked looking down to the ground and then the others faces . Miroku and

Sango were shaking their heads yes .

" Go on , Inuyasha ..." Shippo's little voice squeaked out . Inuyasha turned to walk back Inside .

"Thank you for building the bed for her to rest her fragile body in ...:" Inuyasha said still with his back facing them .

"It was nothing ..." Miroku said and Inuyasha continued on into the hut until he disappeared from sight .

"You think he'll be okay?" Sango said turning to Miroku and she held his hand once again . Miroku simply shook his head yes as he

continued to stare into the hut as if he really wondered himself .

Inuyasha sat quietly on his knees beside Kagome's bed . He held her cold , pale hand , hoping to warm her cold soul a bit . "I love you

Kagome ..." he said hoping she'd respond . He looked at her once beautiful face . Her face was pale , her lips were blue , her hair

seemed dead and she appeared to be nothing more than a dead corpse . Inuyasha couldn't hold it in any longer , he began crying .

He must have sat there for hours , around six , before Kagome woke up . He was sitting starring out the hut , still holding her hand . He felt her hand twitch and feel slightly warmer . He looked over to her .

"Inu...yasha..." she whispered opening her eyes.

"Kagome , your awake ..." Inuyasha said, excited . Kagome smile slightly .

"Oh Inuyasha, how long have you been sitting here ?" she asked him sweetly .

"Around 6 or 7 hours , since I first woke up myself . You know we've slept 3 days. Huh , me sleeping that long , you believe that?"

Inuyasha said with a smile . He was trying to make Kagome feel better . Her color slowly returned . Inuyasha leaned in closer to her . "I

love you Kagome..." Inuyasha said

"I love you too , Inuyasha ..." she said and the two drew their heads together slowly until their lips met . Kagome's lips were

warmed by Inuyasha's and he leaned his head back up and smiled at her . Then she looked in his

eyes as if she was saying 'Again , Inuyasha , again.." . He leaned in to kiss her again , except this time they weren't so innocent .

The next day Kagome was feeling and looking a lot better . She could sit up and move more easily ,though she couldn't walk yet . She

regained color and was eating and drinking well . Her wounds were healing nicely and she was quickly and amazingly going back to her

old self . And Inuyasha didn't let the fact that she couldn't walk yet stop him from letting her see the sunshine and the flowers and the

other things she liked , besides Inuyasha that is . He would pick her up and carry her outside to wherever she wished to go . Her favorite

spot was on alittle hill where she sat in the soft , shaded grass . And Inuyasha helped her to walk again by slowly teaching it to her legs

again . He would hold her as she'd try and walk , that way she wouldn't fall and hurt herself any worse . And the progress paid off . She

was back on her feet in a few weeks , and they set off on their journey again .


	7. Chapter 7 Miroku and Inuyasha's Surprise

Inuyasha and the others had started traveling again , going toward the destination they had

decided to live at . A place not too far from the well Kagome used to travel between times . Of

course , Inuyasha, Kagome, and Shippo would have their own home, and Sango , Miroku , and

Kilala would have their own home as well . Miroku and Sango decided to let the other three

know of their dating , which was already so obvious and surprised no one .

Inuyasha and Miroku had been secretly scheming behind Kagome and Sango's backs . They

were planning to propose . They planned on stopping not too far from were they were currently ,

which was about half way or more to their destination . They couldn't wait hardly any longer

when it was the day before they were going to propose , they almost let the secret slip .

But luckily they kept their secret a secret until the next day . Inuyasha woke Kagome at dawn

and took her out for the day walking around and having a picnic by a small little stream . At the

picnic , Inuyasha had Kagome go sit by him on a large flat rock , next to the stream . Kagome

smiled uncontrollably , she wasn't 100 sure on what was going on , but she had a pretty good

idea . Inuyasha held her hand kindly and looked into once again bright shinning eyes .

"Kagome, I love you . You know this , I know this , our friends know this ... but I want the world to know

of our love . So Kagome ...Will you marry me ?" Inuyasha said and tears of joy ran down Kagome's cheek . She , of course , said yes

and she and Inuyasha , again , began not so innocently kissing . ;)

Miroku made his proposal at sunset sitting on a hillside with Sango . And the next day neither

girl could quit rambling on and on about how sweet and romantic their men were . The boys just

walked proudly behind them .

"Wow you too finally popped the question !" Shippo said sitting on Inuyasha's shoulder .

"Yes , Inuyasha and I have been planning this for some time now ,

making sure everything would be just right ." Miroku said with a grin , quite pleased with himself . Inuyasha smiled and shook his head

agreeing as he watched Kagome and Sango brag about how wonderful they both were . Shippo hopped down and ran up onto

Kagome's shoulder and Inuyasha watched lovingly . Then something horrible crossed his mind , giving him a terrible feeling something

was wrong and that they were being watched . A cold chill ran down his spine and it stopped him in his tracks .

_Sesshoumaru..._ Inuyasha thought to himself , his eyes widening ._I ... I can since his presence... How can this be , I killed him...didn't _

_I?... _Inuyasha thought to himself again and looked around , as he listened carefully for even the slightest wrong sound .

"Inuyasha , what is the matter ? Who is here we cannot see ?" Miroku said and looked around . Everyone stopped .

"Oh I was just daydreaming, sorry , let's keep going..." Inuyasha said and ran up to Kagome's side and held her hand and smiled at her

reassuringly . Then when she looked back to Sango he looked around quickly ._ I know what I felt ... he was __here , but how? Did he _

_really die that day?...I can't remember..._he thought looking back to Kagome. _How could I lie and say I knew nothing was there , _

_Kagome . How could I lie and put __you and our friends in danger ? ...How can I be this naive ...? _he thought as they walked on into

the sunset .


End file.
